Review – Jo Foley Checks in to Smuk London – Belgravia’s Hot New Beauty Spot
I’m not sure how I might react if somebody told me I was looking SMUK…however if that person were Danish, I would be thrilled. For SMUK is the Danish word for beautiful…and now it is the name of a new salon, devoted to all things beauty and beautiful in Belgravia. How the locals will react to the name, remains to be seen…but in the short few months since it opened it is attracting both custom and great interest.
The brainchild of celebrity make-up artist and hairdresser Miabella Ristrop, who is a walking advertisement for SMUK – lean, healthy, glowing, energetic and Danish of course –it is a prototype for worldwide ambitions. Her dream is to roll out a number of SMUKS across the globe selling that particular Scandi version of effortless elegance and self-care. In many ways SMUK is more than a beauty salon, more than a hair salon, it is a lifestyle salon, it is a place of light and space where you can have your hair done, your nails buffed, your make-up applied and enjoy one of the best massages in London alongside a beautifully curated collection of clothes, jewellery and accessories. Or you can pop in for a chat and a coffee. “I would like my clients to treat it as if it were a member’s club, somewhere they feel comfortable and enjoy,” Ristrop explains, and has further plans to host events, talks, networking events, lectures and parties.
But most of all Smuk is about feeling at home in your own skin. According to Ristrop “SMUK is about a confidence in who you are, so when we do your hair or make-up we want to enhance the real you, not change you”. And in order to do this everything that is available within the salon is chosen and curated with a rigorous eye. All the products are natural and organic, for instance there is Amazing Spaces skincare, Oribe and Kevin Murphy for hair care and colour, Kure Bazaar for nails, Kjar Weis make-up which also comes with refillable packaging. The coffee is free trade as are the selection of teas available, while the pop-up shops within the space all meet the same rigour of sourcing and sustainability. Currently one such label is The White Briefs, a Swedish company whose mission statement claims that their products may be low key, but are of high quality and guarantee customers that no person has been exploited in their making.
Buying a lipstick will never feel quite the same again, SMUK is a reminder to all of us to be mindful of our purchases and our needs. And should that ever get too much to cope with, book yourself in for a massage with Jeanie and your stresses as well as your aches will be smoothed away.
20-21 Eccleston Yards, Belgravia, London SW1W 9NF